Sad news for the Princes of Wales to pass along today … during a polo match that both Prince William and Prince Harry participated in yesterday, their favorite polo pony Drizzle suffered a deadly heart attack right in the middle of competition. Prince Harry was riding Drizzle when he felt that something was wrong with the horse … after Drizzle was walked off the field for a check-up, she very sadly suffered a heart attack and died. Here are a few photos of the princes at yesterday and the sad deets of what went down:

Princes William and Harry were ‘very upset’ after their favourite polo pony collapsed and died of a heart attack during a match. Harry had just played a chukka in the second half of the charity match at Coworth Park in Berkshire when he realised that his ten-year old pony, Drizzle, was struggling. He noticed that the brown mare was not running comfortably and decided to take her out of the match. ‘Harry instinctively realised that something was wrong with Drizzle,’ a senior Palace aide told The Mail on Sunday. ‘He decided to ride her to the side of the pitch and she was then walked off. Sadly within minutes she suffered a heart attack and died.

‘William and Harry are very, very upset – Harry was in tears.’ Fortunately spectators were spared the distress of watching the incident. ‘It was very lucky that Harry rode her off because we were spared the gruesome spectacle of watching the pony die,’ a guest told The Mail on Sunday. ‘Harry and William were shaken. Harry had a cigarette at the end of the game and said he did not want to stay for the lunch because he was so upset. He kept saying he couldn’t believe what had happened. Everyone was telling him not to blame himself. Unfortunately these things happen.’ The pony was kept at stables close to the Prince of Wales’s Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire, and had always been kept by the Royal Family. Prince Charles used to ride Drizzle until he gave up playing polo competitively in 2005, and aides said he would be informed of the death. ‘Drizzle is very special to the boys and Prince Charles,’ said the source. ‘The Prince hasn’t been told yet but he will be informed. Drizzle was part of the pool of Royal ponies and all the Princes were very fond of her. It was not the end to the day they had hoped for. It’s been rather distressing.’ Despite the death, the Princes – who were playing for The Prince William Team against The Audi Team – won 5-4.

Before the match got underway (and before he got fully dressed), Prince Harry did a bit of stretching to warm up before yesterday’s polo match:

Oh yeah … stretch it out, Harry. It’s very sad that the Royal family had to lose such a beloved animal but here’s hoping that these photos of Harry gettin’ all loosed up for yesterday’s match will help quell some of the sadness YOU may be feeling.

I wish they’d stop playing polo and start giving a damn about the political mess “their” country is in. England have voted for homophobia and allowing the rich to get richer while the poor get children; the parliament is hung because Scotland and the people who actually care voted for real parties; and what are the princes doing? Playing fucking polo. Wankers.

What the hell are you talking about? There is NO “political mess” … All that’s happened is no party has a majority, it’s a minor a problem but nothing that isn’t easily sorted & a hung parliament may actually be beneficial. The UK is one of the most tolerant societies so I really don’t understand the “homophobia” statement [Gay Brit couples have the exact same rights as hetero couples, can openly serve in the military, the military officially take part in London gay pride, openly gay politicians - perhaps come to America & you'll see how liberal British society is] nor do I get the England or Scotland statement … If you look at the votes you’ll find that the major metropolitan areas in England with millions of people voted mostly Labour … Look at Newcastle, Mancherster, Liverpool, Birmingham & London – they’re all Labour/Lib Dem – it’s the rural & suburbia voters who voted Tory. Your comments & views are perplexing, especially considering the vast majority of U.K voters voted for liberal left parties [Labour 28%, Lib Dems 23%] & Conservative 36% … Though the Conservative party in the U.K is pretty center, it really can’t be described as “right” or “conservative” … U.S Demorcats are more “right” than U.K Conservatives!

This unfortunately just opened old wounds for me. My father just passed away 2 weeks to the day, also from a heart attack. I know the death of a pony is nowhere near as bad as the death of a father but having to watch anyone,human or animal, die of a heart attack is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

aw, that’s really sad.
also, its not their responsibility to do anything about the outcome of the vote in the UK. its basically a trend that people seem to vote conservatively in terms of economic crises (not that i necessarily agree with it) but anyway – they are not politicians. they were born into their position and not qualified to get involved in the intricacies of politics.

Aw, I got a little teary eyed when reading this. It is painful for a beloved companion to die, but at least he was there for it. Personally, I think it would be a lot more painful to not be there, and just hear of the animals passing on or to just see the dead body. At least he got to spend her last few moments of life with her :)